Wednesday, April 23, 2008

sometimes only a few ingredients thrown together make the best food. such is the case with the following salad which is regularly seen on some sabbath and holiday tables.

to be honest, i actually used to detest fennel (anise as we call it) because i cannot stand the taste of black licorice. give me red licorice any day and i'll be happy ;) over the years, as my tastes have changed, i have come to like fennel more and more provided it's mild. the ingredients which make up this fresh salad seem to keep it tame enough for my liking.

the whole thing can be made in less than 5 minutes and is well worth trying. it keeps well for many days in the fridge also.

fennel salad

ingredients:

1 fennel bulb

3 - 4 tbsp vegetable or olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp salt or more to taste1/8 tsp black pepper(good pinch of sugar — optional but i think necessary)

method:

slice the fennel bulb on its side into very thin slices. if the fronds are nice, you can add some of those also (chopped up like you would for dill).

place the fennel in a large bowl and add the oil, salt, pepper and sugar and mix with your hands.

add the lemon juice to taste.

let marinate in the fridge for at least 2 to 3 hours and serve cold or at room temperature. taste and adjust beforehand.

8
comments:

Your salad looks so easy,maybe I'll have to try that. Funny,you mention you can't stand black liquorice and therefore avoided fennel whereas I as a Finn LOVE black liquorice and still detest fennel. I might try to see if my taste buds have changed too......

yael - LOL< that's pretty funny -- we're the opposite of each other. most europeans i know love black licorice. the fennel isn't so strong and has a nice texture to it in the raw state. hope you do give it a try and see if you like it.

hey tc - this is a totally easy recipe with minimal ingredients, as you can see. just cut the fennel thinly & you can also include some of the green dill like fronds, chopped up. it makes a nice fresh side dish/salad.

i was thinking about getting the "box" of vegetables (same 2 wk plan here also from a farmers' market) but i'd probably never get through all of them. somehow i don't see my cat eating them! ;p

b.boy, you're right, no need to wait since so high temperatures still here ( no more dust, at least).so, while shopping this morning i fetched a nice fennel bulb and your salad is now ready in my fridge. even before the resting time it was yummy!all things you post on are great, be them highly elaborated or such a simple recipe like this one. i'd recommend it to everyone even to those who dislike fennel, the mix of flavours is great. sugar added, of course!

sari - see?? i told you it was good! ;) i like it the best when it's more at room temperature since the cold tends to dull the flavours of the oil and lemon juice. you may need to readjust the salt/sugar etc before serving it. anyway, you'll see.... thanks for letting me know how it turned out and the recommendation :)

I get a small box once a fortnight. We often have spuds left but they last for ages. I also grew my own potatoes last year so had loads from that & had to ask the veg box folk not to include any potatoes for ages. That was ok with them though.

Just came over actually to say that they did indeed deliver fennel last week - so tonight is Fennel salad night. Not sure what to have with it.

hi tc - sorry for not answering sooner. i hope you found something to go with the fennel salad (if you did make it) and that it was to your liking .... it's actually quite good alongside fish or even steak. not sure i'd use it with chicken.

i can just imagine all the potatoes you got growing your own! the good thing is they stay good for a long time.

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About Me

a canadian, food-obsessed guy who loves to research, read, write and talk about all things culinary. well, most of the time • collecting recipes, clippings and cookbooks as well as kitchen paraphenalia has long been an 'illness'. blogging about it is my cheap version of therapy • many of the recipes & foods i include may relate to jewish cuisine but my goal is not to maintain a blog which solely focuses on that aspect. so .... no pork, shellfish or mixed meat & dairy here but a myriad of otherwise just as delicious & mouth-watering recipes and information about what enters our gullets • apart from the comestible, posts often include bytes of other interesting finds, quite unrelated to the world of food — a latest earth-shattering or just curious news event, music, humour, the internet, our non-human counterparts & the other oddities of our world will sometimes be featured in the spotlight.